SurLaLune Fairy Tales

If you have fairy tale or folklore related things you'd like to share, please send them to me through my website email, heidi at surlalunefairytales dot com. Read more about fairy tales at SurLaLune Fairy Tales.

The novel is in part inspired by a Russian snow child tale available on SurLaLune at The Little Daughter of the Snow. If you read it, you will recognize the book described here.

This tale shouldn't be confused with The Snow Child ATU Type 1362 which deals more with a wife's questionable loyalty to her husband. This tale is much more bittersweet in which a couple longs for a child together and create one out of snow. It is a bittersweet tale, especially for the childless.

Book description:

A bewitching tale of heartbreak and hope set in 1920s Alaska.

Jack and Mabel have staked everything on making a fresh start for themselves in a homestead 'at the world's edge' in the raw Alaskan wilderness. But as the days grow shorter, Jack is losing his battle to clear the land, and Mabel can no longer contain her grief for the baby she lost many years before.

The evening the first snow falls, their mood unaccountably changes. In a moment of tenderness, the pair are surprised to find themselves building a snowman - or rather a snow girl - together. The next morning, all trace of her has disappeared, and Jack can't quite shake the notion that he glimpsed a small figure - a child? - running through the spruce trees in the dawn light. And how to explain the little but very human tracks Mabel finds at the edge of their property?

Written with the clarity and vividness of the Russian fairytale from which it takes its inspiration, The Snow Child is an instant classic - the story of a couple who take a child into their hearts, all the while knowing they can never truly call her their own.

If I want to win our game, I first must guess your true name! In Rumpelstiltskin, you and a friend take the roles of fey folk who have decided to engage in a name guessing contest. You must use your magical mischief to learn your opponent's secret name while protecting your own! Contents 20 Game cards, 2 Reference cards, 5 Victory point tokens Rulebook.

Here's some images of the cards. I was very thrilled to see that another Rumpelstiltskin variant is inside--Tim Tit Tot--usually Tom Tit Tot, but I am not quibbling. Someone actually read a fairy tale or two before inventing the game.

And if you want to see the game in action with a gamer's review, watch this:

There is a great sale on Amazon for today--Strategy Board Games Deal of the Day--with a lot of wonderful games. This sale is an annual tradition on Amazon and every year I get a few new games for my family.

The selection of games on sale this year is impressive and I want more than I am purchasing myself. This is the sale that inspired me to buy Dixit several years ago which has become a family favorite. Dixit has some fun fairy tale imagery in it across the different versions. The original version, the one on sale today, is still one of our favorites however.

One of the games I did purchase today is Rumpelstiltskin Card Game. I feel like I should give that game--since I just discovered it thanks to the sale--its own post. So I will. But I do recommend checking out the sale if you like games at all. I highly recommend Dixit, obviously. And Ticket To Ride - Europe and others!

Thursday, December 3, 2015

It's December! Time to give away a few books! So what better way to solicit giveaway entries than to ask you what fairy tale related gift you want this year for whatever December holiday(s) you celebrate?

Share your fairy tale related wish list for this year either through a comment to this blog post or through an email to me. Each wish list item, up to five items, will count as a giveaway entry.

I'll make posts of your wishlists to share with other readers here since at least I am always curious and several others have asked me to share so they might find new treasures, too. Entries will be accepted through Thursday, December 31st so you can also come back and share what you may have received, too!

You will get one giveaway entry for each item you share.

I will draw random winners from the entries in early January and giveaway to three winners a SurLaLune Fairy Tales library title of their choice. There 10 titles to choose from and this way you won't have to win a title you may already own. And, no, list price doesn't matter. So choose one of the bigger books if that is what you want!